mince not defrosted...

[ijustwant8hours]

I've just made bolognese with mince that I'd left in the fridge to defrost overnight. It hadn't defrosted. Will cooking with frozen mince just make the texture dodgy? I'm not going to kill anyone am I?

[southeastastra]

no i sometimes cook it from frozen, bash it about with a fork, probably not recommened but still alive

[overmydeadbody]

No not going to kill anyone.

The frozen mince will just defrost in the heat of the pan. Texture remain unchanged.

I often make bolognese with frozen mince. Fry the block of frozen mince in the hot pan, every few minutes turn the block over and scrape off all cooked mince on the underside with a wooden spoon into pan, repeat until all mince is cooked. Added advantage of this is is breaks the mince up into small peices, so none of those nasty long mince worms you get if the mince isn't broken up.

[NormaSnorks]

can't you defrost in the microwave (most have this function). We ALWAYS do that, as we're never organised enough to get it out of the freezer in time!

[overmydeadbody]

Think about it people. WHY would cooking mince from frozen be risky or not recommended?

[throckenholt]

it defrosts as you cook it - and you cook it thoroughly - therefore no problem.

I have done it many times.

[Oliveoil]

freeze in bags

then when you forget to take it out the night before lob bag in pan, pour on boiling water

voila, defrosted

then cook the hell out of it for a few hours (which is how I make ragu anyhoo)

this may break every hygiene rule but I have done it for 20 years so ner!

[ElectricElephant]

what overmydeadbody said. It'll be fine

[ijustwant8hours]

Excellent. I'm taking the cook the hell out of it approach.

[overmydeadbody]

Oliveoil you'd get a nicer tasting sauce if you fried it rather than boiling it

[overmydeadbody]

if you bring it to the boil and keep it at a boil for 5 minutes all possible bacteria will have died. So no need to boil the hell out of it, although bolognese tastes best when cooked for a long time over a low heat so the sauce is really concentrated and thick

[ijustwant8hours]

Well its been cooking for 8 hours or so and the kids seem ok after eating it earlier....

For a supplementary question, now I've cooked the previously frozen raw mince I can freeze it again can't I?

Sorry, feeling dimwitted today!

[ElectricElephant]

yes, you can freeze once when raw, then once again when cooked.

8 hours? wow